


And Someday—

by idola



Category: Densetsu no Yuusha no Densetsu | The Legend of the Legendary Heroes
Genre: Eris Week 2020, Family, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-12
Updated: 2020-01-18
Packaged: 2021-02-27 12:47:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 11,059
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22227391
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/idola/pseuds/idola
Summary: —Maybe things will be a little better.The Eris family throughout the years.
Comments: 11
Kudos: 8





	1. Daydream's End

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> day 1 - before the murder

They knew that their sibling was born when they heard screaming.

Relux was seven years old. Old enough to know not to go poking his head in the nursery second after he started hearing screaming, especially considering it was a little… different from how Ferris’ had been. Maybe that was just because Ferris was special, though. Maybe this baby was more like Relux.

Ferris wasn’t as calm. She was as jumpy as could be. He could understand why, though. This was probably the first time that she ever heard someone other than herself scream. “Brother,” she said. “You hear that?”

“Mm. It’s a baby.”

“A baby,” Ferris repeated. “Our baby sister.”

“Haha. We don’t know if it’s a sister yet. Maybe it’s our baby brother.”

Ferris puffed her cheeks up. “No, sounds like a sister.”

Apparently it was their sister, then. He didn’t feel like explaining that she wasn’t exactly capable of deciding that right now. Who could, with nothing but a baby screaming a few doors down to go off of?

Ferris paced around the room a couple times before Relux stood and caught her attention. “We can go if you want to see them that badly.”

“Yeah. Let’s go see her.”

So they did, with Relux leading the way. It was better for both of them that way. Their parents preferred to see his face peek through doors, not Ferris’. 

Their parents were standing and talking, the baby alone in the crib without even a blanket for warmth. No wonder they were screaming. 

Their father turned to meet Relux’s eyes. “Are you here to see your little brother?”

“Yes,” Relux said. He felt Ferris hit his back lightly like he should have corrected their father to ‘sister.’ As if that would change things.

Their father hummed a vague response, then shrugged. “It’s garbage,” he said. “Do what you will with it.” Then he and their mother met eyes for a moment… and turned their backs to the baby and walked towards the entrance that Relux and Ferris were standing at. They moved aside for their parents to pass, and were soon left alone with a screaming infant.

“…What’s wrong?” Ferris whispered.

“I don’t know,” Relux said. He stepped into the room and looked around. It was dark and hard to tell, but he was pretty sure that nothing had changed since the time Ferris was a baby. Nothing except for the child in the crib.

“…Have you ever heard a cat before, Ferris?”

Ferris’ eyebrows twisted in confusion. “No… why?”

“He kind of sounds like one. That’s all.”

He wasn’t sure how to tell Ferris this, but their parents never left her alone like this when she was born. They didn’t call her garbage back then, either. They just said it’d take time to know her worth. Apparently… apparently the boy in the crib wasn’t going to be given the same opportunity.

Relux walked up to him quietly so as to not disturb him any more than he already was. Ferris followed, clumsy and loud. Yes, the baby was quite ugly… and he did sounds awfully strange. But Relux couldn’t tell how strong he’d be just by looking. So he doubted their parents could either.

“……”

Why, then? Was it because he was screaming instead of crying?

Relux reached a hand out to feel his forehead. It was a little warm, but he was just a baby. So he moved his hand to his heart. 

“What are you doing?” Ferris asked.

“I wanted to know why he’s going to die.”

“…He’ll die?”

“Yeah. Babies die if their mother abandons them.”

“She’s not coming back?”

“Not for him. But she’ll be back tomorrow to train you again, so you shouldn’t stay up too late…”

“Can I hold him?”

Relux forced a smile for her. “Sure. Sit down so you don’t drop him.” He was going to die anyway, of course. But that didn’t mean Relux was going to let Ferris do it, unintentionally, when she had been so excited about her very first little sibling. She sat down against the wall by the crib, so Relux put his arms under their uncovered brother and lifted him up. “I’m going to get him a blanket, too. So he’s warmer.”

Their house had a number of books on children, their proper rearing, and genetics. Relux became interested in the topic after Ferris was born because he wanted to spend more time with her, and it was easier to spend time with her when he knew what he was doing where babies were involved. He even practiced swaddling his pillow back then, excited for the chance to try it out on his sister. So swaddling their screaming little brother with a still-folded blanket that had clearly been meant for that purpose was rather simple.

“There you go,” Relux said. “Nice and warm.”

The baby calmed somewhat, even closing his mouth for a moment. So Relux crouched down next to Ferris and handed him over.

“Be sure to hold his head up when you hold him - yes, just like that. Good job.”

“Heheh. Thanks,” Ferris said. She cooed at their baby brother, smiling warmly.

At the very least, he’d be able to see something warm in his last moments instead of just a cold and empty room, abandoned by the world. “If you move your arms and rock him lightly, he might even be able to sleep,” Relux suggested.

“But what if he doesn’t wake up? You said he won’t live, right?”

“It’s better that he dies now than after you go back to your room to sleep,” Relux said. He’d have to go and read their books on babies and genetics again, but he was pretty sure that the reason their parents had chosen to abandon this child was that he wasn’t healthy. If it had been any other reason, they would have at least waited until he was three or four. Ferris was still alive, after all. “So that his last moments are warm.”

“…Okay,” Ferris said. “I’ll stay here with him.”

“You should sleep if he takes too long, though.”

“No, it’s okay. I want him to be comfy.”

Relux didn’t say anything to that. Because it was late and he was sure that Ferris would drift off against the wall in minutes if the baby managed to sleep.

It didn’t take too long. Especially not with an extra blanket and a little hummed lullaby to speed up the process.

Ferris had made her choice to stay. Now Relux had to make a decision, too. He didn’t think that either choice was cruel, but it was probably best to cut their losses sooner than later. Ferris had to get up early tomorrow morning, not be kept up by screaming, and this baby was fated to be abandoned. So… 

“…You didn’t even get a name, did you?” Relux whispered as he wrapped his arms around the baby, taking him from Ferris. “I’m sorry. Maybe you’ll get another chance somewhere a little brighter. Maybe it’s even for the best this way…”

Their baby brother died that night. But they’d get another little sibling again, someday. He was sure of it. His parents hated Ferris too much to not try for a ‘replacement.’ But that didn’t mean Relux got any sleep that night, and that didn’t mean he was happy when his parents acted like they’d never had that child.

Hopefully… hopefully, he’d be able to help the next one a little more than he could help this one.


	2. As Time Goes By

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> day 2 - lucile

Lucile was having some intense cravings lately. Maybe it was due to being stuck in the depths of the dojo for a week without real food, but in the past few days since coming home he’d been struck by a terrible, terrible hunger, to the point where he could hardly sleep.

He ate everything he was offered at dinner, of course, but it still wasn’t enough. He was still so hungry that it hurt.

Growing pains, maybe?

Lucile idly wondered if his father had felt the same after meeting Eris. It was a rare conversation that his father might not mind having with him, but… he was not exactly Lucile’s favorite person. So if he could avoid asking him for advice, he very much planned to do so. But he didn’t want to ask for seconds and thirds and fourths every day at dinner, either.

It was extremely important for a child of the Eris house to never appear weak. Lucile knew that most of all, and had spent his life adhering to that one rule. His current hunger was most likely a new weakness. So his best course of action was to do his best to deal with it himself.

There were times it got better. Mostly times where he sat in front of Eris and longed to eat it. To just sink his teeth into its flesh and rip and swallow what he could. He thought of it even when he wasn’t surrounded by Eris’ dark and stagnant air. He thought of it at dinner. During training. While he tried to sleep.

His worst craving of all was that of his hunger for Eris.

Regular meat sufficed during meal times, however.

He used to be a rather dainty eater, especially compared to Ferris. Nowadays, though… he was unable to help himself from clearing his plate, whether it was full of vegetables, game, or red meat. He was usually salivating down to the last bite, too. The feeling was, in a way, humiliating. He always felt that the others could see him drooling over his plate no matter how small of bites he took. But days, weeks passed and no one commented on it. Days, weeks passed. And he was still _starving._ To the point where he couldn’t force himself to stay in bed at night.

He didn’t sleep with Ferris anymore so it was pretty easy to slip out of his room, avoiding each and every one of the creaking floorboards he’d grown so familiar with over the years. Skipping them was second nature by now no matter the time of day.

He had two choices - the kitchen or the dojo. Fruit or Eris.

Lucile gulped down his drool at the thought of either of them. He’d rather eat Eris, but he went there every day to suck at its impact on the air. He knew he wasn’t strong enough to consume it yet. So he could go there now, but even if he did… he’d only get to eat the scent of it.

So he went for the kitchen to sneak something to tide him over. Not too much. He’d eat a little and drink some water so his parents wouldn’t notice. Quietly, quickly.

They didn’t notice. Not the next day, either. But that only encouraged him to do it again and again after that… until someone _did_ notice.

“Brother?”

…Lucile had been too focused on the horrid feeling in his guts to notice her. That had happened a couple times lately. And it was dangerous to his life, which he needed to keep Ferris and Iris safe. So that was why he was here now. To dispel the feeling in his stomach so he could focus.

How could he explain that to her, though?

“Ferris. It’s late. You should go back to sleep.”

“But I’m hungry. You are too, right?” Ferris asked, and hopped up onto the counter next to him. “What are you eating?”

“Just an apple.”

“I want one, too.”

“…This is the last one. You can have it if you want, though.”

Ferris shook her head. She might have wrinkled her nose if she were younger, but nowadays she didn’t do that stuff anymore. “You already took a bite out of it.”

“What do you want, then?”

“Umm… dango.”

“I don’t know how to make that.”

“Oh. I guess I can take your apple then,” Ferris said and held a hand out.

Lucile smiled and handed it over. “Sorry about the bite.”

“It’s okay.”

“…How old are you now, Ferris?”

She shot him a funny look. “Nine. How’d you forget that?”

“Haha. I must be tired.”

Nine, huh…?

“That must be why you’re hungry now,” Lucile said. “You’re hitting your growth spurt.”

“Mm. I must be. I’m going to be a super beautiful adult.”

“Yeah, I’m sure.” If she lived. And that was a big _if_ at this point. Only time would tell… time and if he was able to swallow Eris down fast enough.

He wasn’t moving fast enough. He couldn’t waste time like this… 

Lucile hopped off the counter. Ferris stayed sitting where she was. Come to think of it, he’d grown lately, too. She was a lot shorter compared to him than she used to be. She’d catch up again in no time though… probably. Their mother and father weren’t very different height-wise, so Lucile doubted that he and Ferris would be.

“Goodnight,” Lucile said.

“Night.”

Lucile smiled, then turned back away. Not towards his room, but towards the dojo.

He didn’t have any time to waste. Eris would fulfill him far more than an apple would, anyway. So it was better that Ferris took the fruit, and if he spent his night in the dojo drooling at the thought of that ancient flesh. He should have just done that in the first place, really.

They weren’t the same. They had never been the same. Ferris was a real human ever since the moment she was born. Lucile, on the other hand… well, just the fact that he looked forward to spending his nights sucking the eyes out of a demon said it all.

Still, sometimes he thought about all the nights he could have spent making Ferris something instead of staring at Eris’ door. Maybe he could have even learned to make that dango she’d been craving. If he’d been born a little different, that is, a little more human…

But he wasn’t.

That was fine, though. She’d always have Iris.

He’d like it if the two of them could make dango together somewhere else one day. Somewhere far, far away from this rotting place. Maybe they could even smile, if they could be around humans instead of monsters for once.


	3. Gray Empty Smile

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> day 3 - after the murder

Ferris knew that things would be different from now on, with their parents dead. But she didn’t know _how_ different.

Yes, Lucile had saved her… but could she really be sure of why? Could she be sure that her training would stop, or that no one would ever… 

She shivered. She’d been doing that a lot today.

Lucile had looked at her, blood all over his face, his clothes, and his arms, and told her to get some rest. He hadn’t moved at all. He’d just stared, waiting for her to get up and go. So had she picked up the torn pieces of her clothes up with weak and shaking limbs to put them back on. She turned away to put them on, and after a moment the sensation of being watched left. She let out a breath that she hadn’t known she’d been holding.

What had he been thinking, then?

What did he think in the second his eyes lingered?

Ferris didn’t know. She didn’t even know what _she_ was thinking, feeling, much less him.

She’d gone straight back to her room after that, leaving Lucile in the bloody dojo with the bodies. Maybe she should have said something. But she couldn’t think of anything that would have come out right, and… it really didn’t seem like a very safe place to stand around and chat. Not with the bodies. Not with Lucile.

Ferris felt a little better now that she was back in her room and into clean clothes, as much of the blood washed from her face and hair as she could manage for now. But she was still shaking all over. She couldn’t get the thought of what just happened out of her mind. It was replaying itself on loop - her parents holding her down, her brother laughing and killing them… What was going to happen to her now? What— 

She froze, instinctively holding her breath.

The door.

There was something at the door.

Ferris forced her stiff neck to move to see. But when she did, she instantly relaxed. It was just Iris.

“…Are you okay?” Iris asked. She’d gotten used to seeing Ferris come back bruised and bloodied, but today was worse than usual… considering her broken arms and how much she was still shaking.

“I’m fine,” Ferris said. But she could still feel it out there somewhere… that same uncontrollable bloodlust that’d killed their parents. “Don’t just stand in the door. Come in.”

Iris smiled and did so, closing the door behind her. Ferris wasn’t confident that she could protect Iris in this state, even if she wanted to. But… she at least had a responsibility as her older sister to warn her. Where did she even start? A lot had just happened. So much that Ferris didn’t even know where to start. All she knew was that she needed to say something about it. Otherwise she might end up asking Lucile, and… 

Iris plopped down right beside her, looking up at her with all the affection of a girl who could understand and trust her older sister perfectly. It made Ferris want to pet her head. But her arms ached horribly even when she didn’t move them, so she just settled with the thought of it. And the thought of Iris giggling at it, adoration in her sparkling eyes.

Ferris wondered if there had been a time where she looked up at Lucile like that. If there was, she couldn’t really recall it now. Not when the picture of his face caked with blood kept overtaking her old memories of him.

“…Iris. There’s something I need to tell you. It’s really important, so listen to me.”

Iris nodded seriously.

“Our… our parents are dead.”

Another serious nod. Was she really taking this in? Or was she just nodding so Ferris would praise her? It was difficult to tell sometimes.

“They were killed,” Ferris continued.

Iris tilted her head in confusion. “Really? By who?”

“…Lucile…”

“…He can do that?” Iris asked. The edge in Ferris’ voice had finally gotten to her, and she was getting tense, too, glancing at the door. It was sinking in. Good.

Ferris nodded. “I didn’t know that he could either. But it looks like he’ll be in charge from now on.”

“Why can’t you be in charge instead?”

“…I’d never be able to stand up against him,” Ferris said. “He’s stronger than both of us combined. Stronger than our mother and father, even. So… so…”

“Are you okay?” Iris asked again.

Ferris wanted to nod. But she couldn’t stop her shivering enough to do so. “I’m fine,” she said, despite her wavering voice. “I’m fine. But I need you to listen to me.”

“I will!”

“Try not to go near Lucile alone.”

Iris furrowed her eyebrows for a moment, but nodded. “Okay. I won’t,” she promised.

Ferris sighed in relief.

She didn’t know what would happen from now on. But it was a big sister’s job to protect her little sister.

…Come to think of it, Lucile was the one who had told her that, wasn’t he? He told her to protect Iris, their newborn sister, then walked away after she was thrown into the wall for daring to try to touch her baby sister’s face. That was just how things were with them, sometimes.

She thought of all the times Lucile had pet her head or hugged her. His blood-caked face. All the times he threw her to the ground and slammed a wooden sword against her. His blood-caked face.

Her head hurt.

Lucile said that he loved her. But what did that really mean? Did it mean that he wanted to protect her like she wanted to protect Iris? Or did it mean that he wanted to touch her like her father had tried? He said that their parents loved her too… but that was strange. Her parents and Iris were the polar opposites of her world. And Lucile… She couldn’t even begin to place Lucile on that map.

He pet her head like Iris. He beat her with a wooden sword in the dojo like their parents. She knew both of those things for sure. She could live with them. It was what she didn’t know. It was the thought of him turning to her after killing their parents. The thought of what he might do next.

She shivered again, her traitorous voice whimpering against her will at the memory.

Then she felt a soft hand on her head.

Iris.

“It’s okay,” Iris said, puffing her chest out with the kind of confidence that only a little kid was capable of having. “I’ll protect you!”

“…Mm. You’re a good kid.”

“Ehehe.”

“Us sisters have to stick together,” Ferris said. “Let’s have a sleepover in here tonight.”

Iris’ eyes sparkled. “Can we!? Yaaay!”

Iris… would be okay. She was a cheerful kid, and… she was pretty strong, and… and Lucile had protected her, right? There was no reason for him to hurt her and Iris… except…  
He hadn’t even seemed like her brother then. Would he seem like himself the next time they saw each other? Or would he be laughing, and… 

Another shiver.

“Let’s make a blanket fort! With really really warm blankets!” Iris said. “Then you won’t be cold anymore!”

Ferris finally broke through the pain to give Iris’ head the best pat she could manage. “Mm. Let’s do that.”


	4. Fake Red Shoes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> day 4 - ferris

A long long time ago, in a place a little different from how it was now— 

“…And so the prince defeated the evil of the world, and he and the princess lived happily ever after,” he said. “The end.”

“What do you mean?”

“What do you mean, what do I mean?”

“Happily ever after.”

“Haha. Ferris, you’ve never heard of happily ever after?”

She shook her head. She was laying in the crook of her older brother’s arm, and he had a bedtime story propped up for them both to read. But she was mostly just looking at the pictures. Because her head hurt and she was tired, and her brother knew more words anyway.

They did this a lot. Lucile liked to read and Ferris liked to be read to. But it often ended with Ferris wondering why the people in the books were so different from them. Her brother said it was because they were fictional. But what did that mean, really? He explained it once, but she still didn’t really get it.

“They’re… hmm…”

His voice trailed off. Like he was having trouble imagining it too.

Ferris closed her eyes. She was half asleep by the time she heard her brother’s quiet voice start to explain it again.

“…They’re kind of like us, I think. Not during the day. But at times like this. They’re probably going to get married, though…” 

“Married?” Ferris asked through a yawn.

“Yeah. Like our parents. It’s the kind of relationship where two people have children together. In fairy tales, they always pick someone who saved them for it. I think you can be happy even without that stuff, though. No, I don’t think it’d make you happy at all…”

“Mm…”

Ferris’ consciousness was drifting away. She heard the book close.

“You’ll need to be up early tomorrow, so I guess we should call it a night.”

“Mm-hm.”

“Goodnight, Ferris.”

“Night…” 

He clicked the bedside lamp’s magic off, careful not to move too much. It was nice and warm. Safe. It didn’t take long for her to fall asleep.

\---

Ferris was cleaning her room. It was the first time in a long time, since the butler usually came to dust and such while she was out. He didn’t go digging under her bed or anything, though, so today she set out to tackle under her bed and closet.

She wouldn’t decide to do something like this out of the blue, no. But Iris reminded her of a dango keychain she bought a year ago and she realized she had no idea where it was now. So they were on a dango rescue mission.

Ferris was searching her bed because she had a habit of putting books she wanted to read before she went to sleep under it. Sometimes they were just books. But a lot of the time they were _books._ So Iris got closet searching duty, which was mostly just picking up hangers and old clothes that’d fallen and putting them back up after checking the pockets for the missing dango.

Ferris kept reaching out under herself, pulling everything she could grab out from under the bed. She’d found over a dozen books like this so far. Voluptuous Lady, Heartbroken-Heartbreaker Maiden, and many other books from fantastic series that she followed even now. But the one she’d just picked out was a fairy tale collection. She’d opened it, confused and unable to remember ever seeing it. But the first few words of the first story jogged her memory. Once upon a time… was a sentence that she could hear in her brother’s voice. Not his voice now. His voice from when he was a kid.

She sat at the edge of her bed to read for a moment while Iris scrounged around in her closet. The stories were so-so. Very tame. But she wasn’t really reading it now for the stories. It was more for the memories.

What a strange feeling. What was it, she wondered.

Ferris didn’t read to Iris. Not really. Iris had a lot of energy every single day, so she wasn’t big on calm, stationary activities like reading. She preferred to jump around and play. And… the thought of reading to her reminded Ferris of times gone, anyway.

She didn’t mind being reminded of all the times she was beaten and bloodied. But now that she had the story in front of her and she could recall all the times her brother taught her new words while they huddled under the covers… 

Ferris had spent so much time like that as a child. She’d think about how warm her brother was, and sleep safely in his arms when her room was too scary to be alone in. Then he’d wake her up a little before their parents knocked loudly, already in bad moods and yelling at her to get to the dojo. He’d get her up and lay her clothes out for her and then leave to get dressed himself.

Things had changed a lot since then.

Lucile didn’t read to her anymore. They didn’t eat together anymore, either.

Ferris wasn’t sure that she hated it. She might hate spending time with him more. He’d changed, after all. He wasn’t the brother she remembered. The boy who’d read to her and pet her head and told her to hang in there… wasn’t the kind of person who could kill people while laughing.

Ferris had never liked spending time with their parents. Because what that really meant was getting screamed at and hit over and over again. But… was that really grounds for killing them? While _laughing_?

She shivered. It was the middle of summer. It wasn’t cold at all. If anything, it was hot enough to sweat even indoors. And yet she couldn’t help but shiver at that memory even now.

It was hard to place why things had turned out the way they did. She turned her attention back to the fairy tale. It was pretty standard. She’d read stories like it before. Well, she’d read _this_ story before. If memory served correctly, it ended something like… 

Ferris flipped the page.

“…Happily ever after,” she whispered.

What did that mean?

The story didn’t explain. She couldn’t remember her brother explaining, either.

Then what… 

“Sister sister sister!! I finished searching your closet! And look! I found it! The dango’s safe now!!”

Ferris looked up. Iris had the triumphant expression of a girl who’d just fought a monster and won. “Mm. Good job.”

“Remarkable, right!?”

“Yeah. Remarkable.”

“Yaay!” Iris yelled. She jumped up and down, waving her arms around as she did.

“…Iris, come here for a second.”

Iris hopped on over and plopped down next to her. She looked at the book curiously.

“I found this while I was searching,” Ferris said. She pointed to the final sentence. “What do you think this means?”

“Happily ever after?” Iris repeated. “Um, um… Oh, I know! It says they’re prince and princess, right? So they’re brother and sister? I got it! They must get along really well! Like we do! And they’re happy! Because they can have dango parties every day!”

“…I see,” Ferris said.

“Was I helpful? Was I?”

Ferris closed the book. “Mm. So this is what it’s like to live happily ever after, then.”

Iris gave her a big nod.

Ferris didn’t get it before. But she was starting to get it now.

The story hadn’t changed over the years. It was still the same. The prince defeated the evil witch and then lived happily ever after with the princess. But things changed outside of the book. The prince defeated the evil, but the ones to live happily ever after were two princesses, weren’t they?

She supposed not every story could end the same. But… Iris was right.

They got to eat dango every day now. Ferris didn’t get her bones broken anymore, either. Not unless she did something to get on Lucile’s bad side and he made her train with him more seriously than usual. Even then, he was quick to heal her afterwards, and it really wasn’t every day. So things weren’t… well, they weren’t tough then, either. Because it’s all she’d known. And yet she couldn’t deny that things had improved significantly.

For her. And for Iris.

Now, if the same went for Lucile or not… who knew, really? He was off in his own world.

Ferris might have forgotten a few of the fairy tales he used to read her, but she certainly remembered some of them. She remembered how warm and safe she used to feel when they were together.

Did he?


	5. Thanks for Being Born

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> day 5 - after making up

Lucile used to tell Ferris happy birthday every year. But he stopped around the time Iris was born. Not out of ill will. He’d mention that her birthday was coming up a week or a month late, leaving her with a strange feeling in her stomach. Because he always, always used to remember.

Ferris still remembered his birthday after that, though. She continued the quiet tradition that Lucile had started and told Iris and Lucile happy birthday every year when it came. Then Iris was old enough to start yelling happy birthday to them at the top of her lungs every year.

Then their parents died and neither of them were sure if they could wish Lucile a happy birthday anymore. It ended up not mattering, though. Because they didn’t see him the whole day that year, and then when Iris’ birthday came around, he forgot about it. The same went for Ferris’. So really he was the one who bowed out of their tradition, even though he was the one who’d started it in the first place.

Five and a half years had passed since then.

It was a little late, but they’d finally all gotten on the same page. And Lucile’s birthday was coming up soon. Even if she hadn’t wished him a happy birthday the past five years, she should do it now. And she should get a gift, too. Because she always got Iris presents, and Iris always got her something too.

The question was what to give him.

What would he like? Who _was_ he, really? Ferris wasn’t sure after all this time.

Ferris couldn’t place the feeling she got when she thought back to the distant past. All she knew was that she didn’t like it. So she tried not to think about it at all. But it was important today. So she closed her eyes and tried to recall it anyway.

Her first clear memory was being wrapped up under the same blanket as him, a book propped up in his lap. Right. He’d read to her every single night back then, hadn’t he? Sometimes he was tired and bruised from his own training, too, but he always used to have the time for her then.

He didn’t now, of course. But that didn’t mean that time so long ago was fake.

What else had he done…?

He’d sleep with her when she had nightmares and choke her to bed when she had insomnia, and… now that she was really thinking about it, she did all of those things with Iris now. So maybe she could just recycle present ideas and make this a whole lot easier.

She usually just got Iris clothes and dango. Iris loved cute and frilly things, and she was always so happy to get a new dress. So Ferris bought her a new dress every year, and then they got a bunch of dango and had a dango party while the birthday girl wore her cute new dress. It was always a lot of fun.

Lucile didn’t ever dress up, though. He never even stopped wearing the clothes their parents had them wear to train in. So clothes were probably out. Besides, she didn’t know his measurements. Iris’ were easy to get while she slept, but she hadn’t seen Lucile sleeping in years and years. They weren’t kids anymore, after all, and Lucile was a man. They never shared a bed anymore.

What might he like, then? Books?

She hadn’t seen him read in years, either… 

She had no idea what he did with his time now. Every time she asked what he’d been doing, he always said he was thinking. But he couldn’t fill five whole years with just _thinking_ , right?

…Right?

……She couldn’t convince herself.

So what if he did just sit there and think and occasionally kill people for five years? What could someone who did nothing for fun possibly want?

Maybe he’d read a book if she gave it to him. Or maybe he’d just put it on a shelf somewhere and never think of it again, or worse, throw it away as soon as she turned her back. What book would she even give him? How could she know if their tastes were anywhere near the same now?

She could get him dango. But she didn’t know if he’d eat it. She’d never seen him eat dango before. Maybe he even hated it.

…Why would she buy a present for someone who hated dango, anyway?

\---

A couple days passed.

Lucile’s birthday wasn’t getting any farther away. Time wasn’t that nice. It was only three days away now, and Ferris still didn’t have the faintest clue of what to get him. She was getting him something, though. They’d gone back and forth on each other for long enough. It was time to be a normal family again.

She did ask Iris, though, who said she was getting dango because that’s what you get people for their birthdays. Ferris had agreed enthusiastically at the time, but again, she doubted that Lucile would actually eat several gifts worth of dango, and she wouldn’t be able to win even if she fought him for the dango’s honor if he refused. So… what to get him, then?

She’d gotten Kiefer some dango pajamas once, but again, clothes were out. She had absolutely no idea what size he was. Every time she tried to focus on it when she saw him, he looked a little different their next meeting. It was as perplexing as it was annoying, seems as she was going out of her way to shop for him.

Still. She had to get him something. Otherwise things might just go back to how they were before.

Ferris decided to spend her day searching the city for the perfect gift.

It was an unusually cold year for Roland. It wasn’t anywhere near as cold as the north got, but people who never left Roland were definitely feeling it. She could tell by all the chattering teeth she passed on her way to the market.

There were all sorts of toys and books in the castle town market, but nothing that jumped out at her as something Lucile might be interested in. There were clothes, too, but none she thought he’d wear even if she did take a good guess at his size.

There were journals to write in with cute covers, candy apples, and nice shoes. And if she didn’t know what size of clothes to buy, she was _completely_ lost on the shoes. Maybe she should have brought Ryner to try things on for a comparison. Then again, Lucile was probably closer to her size than his… 

It really was cold. Even she might shiver if she stayed out too long. She kept needing to stop for nice, fresh dango courtesy of the Wynnits, and even then she was cold. They were even selling scarves in the street stalls.

Scarves…

Seeing some here and now with her brother on her mind got her memory working.

Right. That was right. Lucile always shivered in this weather, too, though he did a good job hiding it around their parents. And he was always so cold at night. And he always gave his blankets to Ferris even when she was warm and he was icy.

He was the exact kind of person who needed a scarf. But not just any scarf.

Yes. Yes, she was a genius. She knew just what he needed.

\---

“Here,” Ferris said. “For you.”

Lucile took the box, but he tilted his head in wonder as he did. “What for?”

“…Happy birthday.”

Lucile’s eyes widened in surprise. It was a scripted expression, but that didn’t mean the emotion behind it was, too. That was just how he was. “It’s that time of year already?”

“Mm.”

“I see… thank you, then.” He pulled at the ribbon, careful not to tear it. Then unwrapped the box neatly. Had he always been a meticulous person? Ferris wasn’t sure. He was the type to put things away when he was done with them, but more than that, maybe he was the type to not make a mess in the first place. Apparently that was how he opened presents, too. To avoid making a mess.

“A scarf,” Lucile said as he pulled it out. “With dango on it.”

Ferris nodded. “For when you get cold. Dango scarves are the warmest of all. Iris and I tested it and confirmed that it’s a scientific fact.”

Lucile smiled. It was fake, as usual… but at least his eyes didn’t look quite so dead now.

They’d manage, somehow. They’d be okay.

“Thank you, Ferris,” Lucile said and wrapped the scarf around his neck. “I love it.”

“Iris got you something, too, so make sure you come in to eat.”

“Haha. I will.”

…Maybe his smile wasn’t so fake after all. At the very least, he looked more alive, more _human_ , than he had in years.


	6. Promise

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> day 6 - iris

Iris was used to spending time alone.

She had her sister, of course! But sometimes she was busy. It was hard work being an angel.

She had her brother, too. She wanted to get along with him! But even when he seemed like he was going to try, he drifted back away a few days later.

So Iris was used to being alone.

She spent a lot of time playing with the kids in the noble’s district, but when day turned to night and she went home, the house was usually empty. Well, there was Croseli! But he had adult things to do like read newspapers and grumble about the weather.

The worst time was after her sister and the beast left Roland. Because then she couldn’t really play with the dojo kids, either. Because she had a job and her sister was depending on her. And Sion too. But mostly her sister.

It got better halfway, though! Because Arua and Kuku came home with her and got to live with her. Sort of. Her brother said they couldn’t live in the main house, but they still got to live on the other side of the gardens so it was fine. They were younger, though, and they liked playing with each other more than they liked playing with Iris. So sometimes it was a little lonely even when they were together.

The only one who really made Iris feel like she wasn’t alone was Ferris. They had dango parties every single day once she came back, but… she had to go again not long after.

And then Iris was left alone again.

Lucile appeared near her one day, nearly making her jump out of her skin.

“Is it tough being alone?”

She didn’t know how to reply. But then she remembered something Ferris told her and puffed up her cheeks. “You’re holding the dango prisoner! I heard from my sister! She said you’re going to destroy the dango if she doesn’t leave! So you’re the reason she’s gone!”

“Haha. She left on her own this time…”

“……”

Yeah… she did say that, didn’t she? Iris felt her mood deflate. Iris wanted to go with… but no, instead she was here with Lucile.

Then again, that wasn’t really ‘alone,’ was it?

Iris didn’t talk to her brother much after that. But she didn’t feel so alone anymore when she thought that maybe he’d come if only she called out to him. But she didn’t do that. Because Ferris told her not to.

Iris didn’t really know what happened all those years ago. No one ever told her, not really. Her sister said that Lucile killed their parents. Her brother said that Iris and Ferris could go outside however much they wanted, and not worry about training every morning. He still complained when they did just that, though.

Iris knew that her sister was always right. But on this one thing, she thought that maybe Iris was right, too. They were still siblings, and that meant something! Even if Lucile was really mean!

And then they made up.

It was okay if they didn’t all get together very much. Iris still liked her sister better than her brother anyway. But sometimes it was fun seeing everyone together anyway.

Lucile didn’t follow Ferris the same way Iris did, so it was a little different spending time with him there too. He didn’t have dango parties with them, but sometimes he did have breakfast with them.

It was okay if they didn’t really eat dango together. That’s what her sister said. Because they could still talk.

Today was another dango party day, and Iris was hard at work even early in the morning. See, her sister told her to send Sion a message, so now she was drawing a message out for him over their dango party. 

It wasn’t long before she felt a second set of eyes on her drawing. She used to hide what she was working on when that happened, but this time she moved a little so he could see. Because he came out to see them, and maybe he’d even sit and have some dango. It’d make Ferris happy if he did.

“…What are you drawing?” Lucile asked.

“People!”

“On fire?”

“Yes!”

“Hmm…”

Ferris glanced over at Iris’ art too. “Remarkable. I’m sure Sion will love it.”

Iris beamed. “Yeah!!”

“What’s this one about?” Lucile asked.

“Um, so like, see? The people on fire are us. And the sofa in the sky is the throne. And the fox by it is Sion!”

“……”

“And the chains are, um, they’re for sub-subju… um, I don’t remember, but they’re for bullying us with! But he’s used them too much and now they’re all tangled around him. That’s why some of the fire people are escaping and running towards the lake! They’re like, they’re done! They’re not going to listen to him any more!”

“……”

“Also also also! You see this one over here?” Iris asked, pointed to someone in the middle of the fire. “This one’s the beast! You can tell because of his collar! He’s in trouble because he gave his chain back to Sion.” 

Her siblings were quiet. Iris swished her head around to look at Lucile, but he was the same as always, so she turned back to look at Ferris, but she was the same as always too.

“Um, uh, do you like it?”

Iris felt two warm hands touch her head at once. Ferris was still holding dango in her other hand, so the other one must be… 

Iris watched Ferris’ eyes widen just a little as she looked up at their brother. But she didn’t move her hand off, and neither did he.

“Haha… good,” Lucile said. “I’m sure Sion will see the hell he’s put you through… ha, haha…”

Iris puffed her cheeks up. It sounded like Lucile was laughing at her! But his hand moved around on her head, messing her hair up just as much as Ferris always did. So she ended up forgetting all about him laughing at her. “Ehehe.”

She went through the rest of her sketchbook with them. They understood everything by the last picture, guessing it all before Iris even had to tell them.

It was lots of fun. Iris hoped it’d continue forever. For them to always be the three of them, no matter how far apart they were, no matter how little they got to see each other, forever and ever…


	7. Light

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> day 7 - free day
> 
> why is miran here? well

Humans would die without sleep. Lucile would not.

The obvious point to be made there was that Lucile was not human - if it didn’t sleep, it wasn’t human; therefore, a non-sleeping monster was not human. Simple. Philosophical paradoxes had their uses after all.

Usually, Lucile only really cared for sleep as a categorization tool. Today, however… 

Perhaps the conversation he had earlier would explain it best.

“Aren’t you going to sleep?” Iris had asked.

Ferris was there, too, watching him with that blank expression of hers. “ _Do_ you sleep?”

Lucile considered her question. They had recently promised to be more honest with each other, but did it really matter if he was honest about this? No, it was stuff like this that they’d agreed about… right? It was just sleep. They’d all heard worse. “I have insomnia,” Lucile finally said. “So I don’t really…”

“…You don’t really sleep?” Iris finished when it became apparent that Lucile wasn’t going to. 

“Yeah.”

“We should sleep, Iris,” Ferris said pointedly. “Or we won’t get taller.”

Iris’ eyes flicked between her siblings. “Is that why you’re almost taller than him? Because you sleep?”

“Mm.”

Lucile’s eye twitched. He instinctively wanted to argue that, but… was she really wrong? She was his sister. His little sister. She wasn’t supposed to get taller than him. And yet here she was, inching dangerously higher even though a centimeter or two was their only difference in height now… “Are you sure you aren’t done growing already, Ferris?”

“I just grew another half inch,” Ferris said easily.

…Really?

Lucile might not need sleep, but there were still human things about his body. He did grow. His body did change. He could heal it if he was harmed, but he continued to age normally. But he was in his twenties now, so even if Ferris could grow… he doubted that he could. Still, though. Would it hurt to try sleeping long enough to check? How would he keep an eye on Sion while he slept, anyway?

Lucile focused his thoughts back on the present. The sun had gone down… at some point or other, and Sion was still flipping through papers and sighing at his desk. It was an uneventful evening, the likes of which he’d seen many, many times before.

There were two doors to the room he was presently standing in. One led to the hall, the other to a very small room with a bed for Sion to use between twenty to thirty hour long stints of working.

Lucile wasn’t sure how long Sion had been working, but he showed no signs of slowing down. So he probably wouldn’t head for his bed any time soon. So in theory… Lucile could lie down there and attempt to sleep in his place.

He moved into the room. By thinking about it and projecting himself there. Then he thought better about it, returned to the place he’d been in before, and took steps over to the door like a human would. Then he remembered that Sion was still there and would in fact notice if he opened the door. So he ended up using his powers to enter the bedroom anyway. What a useless exercise in humanity.

…It smelled like Sion. Sure, there were worse smells… but… 

Now that he was looking at a bed and thinking of sleep, Lucile was recalling all of the times he had invited Ferris, scared and scarred from training, to sleep with him so she could relax just enough to fall asleep.

He couldn’t sleep with Ferris like that now. Wouldn’t, rather. They were both far too old for that. He was more at the age where he wanted to sleep with someone he’d be alright with pressing up against… because despite everything, not being human and devouring what a human should never put in their mouth in the first place, he still had something of a sex drive. In fact, it probably got worse after devouring Eris. Who would have thought that demons still craved touch.

That was probably the part of him that was twisting at the thought of sleeping in a Sion-scented bed. It was unlikely that Sion would decide to call it a night while Lucile was turning over in bed, but if he did… well, it’d be an unpleasant experience all around. For both of them.

Plus… Lucile was always here. Cleaned or not, that bad had seen some things that Lucile wished it hadn’t. It was not in any way an environment conducive to relaxing in.

This would be so much easier if he were still a kid.

Ferris had always slept so well, no matter how scared she’d been at first… and Lucile had slept easier on those days that Ferris had joined him, too.

His mind kept returning to it, like it or not… 

Perhaps human companionship was the easiest way to force himself to sleep again. He could at least use another person as an example. As long as it wasn’t his sisters. Just… another person… no, he should try it alone first.

He returned to the main room to consider the problem. But not for long. Morning came far faster than expected.

How exactly was he supposed to learn how to sleep again when nights were so short?

Perhaps he’d be able to sense the time better if there were someone right beside him, too. That always seemed to be the case. He could waste hours and hours on a single thought alone, but a conversation had to be done in sequence.

He might not have gotten any sleep, but he did learn something, at least. That he could not just sleep in Sion’s bed. But he couldn’t abandon Sion now either, so ideally he would remain near the castle. He could sense something amiss near Sion in time as long as he stayed in Reylude.

He’d consider his options and try again tomorrow night.

Tomorrow night, which came in the blink of an eye.

He tried to sleep on an unused, dusty bed in the castle after a few hours of watching Sion. But all he did was toss and turn. Lying down was uncomfortable to one who only ever did it on the rare occasion that he was thrown to the ground in a fight.

As expected, trying to sleep on his own was a fruitless venture.

Lucile returned to Sion for a time, letting his senses wander… and felt out Miran’s location in the castle. He often followed Miran around the castle to escape Sion’s stressed sighing. Plus, it was enjoyable to just watch him. The way he moved, the way he spoke, the way he fiddled with his nails between paperwork… it was all very endearing.

Today was no different.

Miran was talking to one of his subordinates. He was always impersonal with them, and if the need arose, he’d fire them quickly. That part of him was very unlike Sion, who would stick with his own choices even when they were inconvenient because he trusted his own judgement. Miran often did trust his judgement in the moment, but sometimes he’d go back on it as new information came up, which was a large part of how he ended up with such a revolving door of employees.

The other part was that Miran was very conscious of how he was looked at. A noble whose gaze lingered was the most likely to be fired of all under Miran. He wouldn’t say that, though. He’d just find some dirt on them and use it as an excuse.

That put Lucile in an odd position, being a noble who was currently watching him. But Miran was a little more tolerant of him than the others, it seemed. Probably because he found Lucile attractive. He never said so, no, but there were only so many times someone could justifiable get excited when fighting with someone they weren’t attracted to before it became an obvious, though unstated, fact.

Lucile waited for the soldier to leave. He took his time, reviewing several orders with Miran before finally bowing and leaving. Miran did like them to be thorough. The soldier was smart to do that. But he didn’t matter now. What mattered was that he had a window to approach Miran with.

Lucile raised a hand to touch Miran’s face with. His eyes widened with surprise, but he soon forced himself into composure. “Duke Eris.”

He pressed his thumb lightly into Miran’s cheek. If this were literature, they’d call it a ‘caress.’ But that felt a little dramatic for real life. “Marquess Miran Froaude. How do you do?”

“…What have you come here for?”

“To see you.”

“……”

“……”

Was that a bad response? Hmm.

“…What exactly are you seeing me for?” Miran finally asked, slowly, like he’d taken great care to choose how to advance the conversation. 

And now the ball was in Lucile’s court. The question of how to carry on a conversation with Miran was a complex one that he had considered before, as he watched soldiers press buttons that they hadn’t realized existed time and time again over the past year or two. In short, being blunt was not to his advantage. But neither was beating around the bush when his intention was obvious. 

Lucile let his hand fall from Miran’s face. “I have something of a favor to ask of you. Though I believe you will find it beneficial to yourself as well…”

“And what might the favor be?” Miran asked. Good, he was taking the bait.

“I will give you information that will help you kill me if you accept, as well as an opportunity to do so.”

“……”

“I want you to help me sleep.”

Miran tilted his head. “You want to sleep.”

“Yes.”

“With me.”

“Yes.”

“As in—”

“As in sleeping. Entering a dream state,” Lucile said, then clarified, “No innuendo intended.”

Miran’s eyebrows furrowed. He looked awfully confused. “Why?”

“I just want to sleep. I think it’s a pretty simple concept myself…”

“Haven’t you tried sleeping pills?”

…Perhaps this was to be expected. Humans could not perceive the world outside of their little enclaves. But in that very same way, monsters could not perceive the world of humans either. No, he hadn’t tried any pills. What good would they do, though, when it’s not been days but _years_ since he last slept?

He’d veered too far off from what pills meant for humans could touch. Lucile wanted to understand the human world once more. But Miran probably couldn’t understand that feeling at all. Because he couldn’t understand that there was a world outside of what humans were capable of experiencing.

“It’s a good opportunity for you, isn’t it?” Lucile asked, ignoring Miran’s questions altogether. “If I’m successful and manage to fall asleep, then you get another chance to try to kill me.”

“…You are awfully confident in your ability to wake up in time.”

“Haha.” Actually, he was confident in not being able to sleep in the first place. “Do you accept?”

“…It is an interesting offer.”

“If you do accept, then I will follow you home and make use of your bed.”

Miran’s eye twitched.

“Once again, no innuendo intended. I don’t sleep. I have not for years. But I would like to see if I can dream again.”

“Why do you need me for that purpose?”

“Because I can’t sleep alone,” Lucile said.

“…How surprisingly child-like.”

Lucile smiled. “It is, isn’t it?”

\---

And so another attempt at sleeping began.

Lucile could feel Miran’s body heat from the other side of the bed. Cold as his expression might be, his body was definitely warm. 

They just stared at each other in the dark for a while, unmoving. Miran looked like he was genuinely planning on staying up all night to observe Lucile for an opening, but Lucile had kept tabs on Miran the past few nights, too. He was reaching Sion levels of sleep deprivation. That was why today was such a good day to do this. Because while Sion could go three days without sleeping, Lucile had never personally seen Miran do it.

As expected, it didn’t take long for Miran to start to drift. He’d gotten all ready for bed, after all - he was big on appearances, and of course he didn’t want to _look_ like he was about to murder Lucile to put him on guard. It wasn’t all that surprising when his breathing slowed, his mouth opening just enough to look silly. That was the real proof that he was asleep. Miran could consciously slow his breathing speed all he wanted, but Lucile very much doubted that he’d take to looking like a child about to drool on his pillow to trick him.

Lucile took the opportunity to move a little closer. To hug the pillow separating them. It was a fairly large bed, so placing a pillow in the middle did put a significant amount of space between their bodies. But Miran had curled up a little from sleep, too, closing their distance far quicker than Lucile had anticipated.

He could feel Miran’s breath on his face. It was warm… warmer than he recalled breath feeling.

Lucile closed his eyes. When he did, he recalled all the times he’d slept like this with Ferris back when they were children and she needed someone to protect her from the dark. Even with his eyes closed, he knew that time had passed since those days thanks to the breaths beside him. Because Miran had a larger lung capacity than Ferris had when she was a kid, so he breathed differently, a longer inhale and exhale cycle. But it was just as rhythmatic to listen to, and somehow… 

Lucile jolted awake.

The force was enough to wake Miran next to him, too.

“…What are you doing?” Miran asked, his voice thick with sleep. Lucile had never heard him sound any less than perfectly awake, no matter how tired he might have actually been. It was charming to hear after all this time.

“I fell asleep,” Lucile admitted.

“Was that not your goal?”

“It was, but I didn’t think it’d really happen.”

Miran did a little half stretch. The legs half. Cute… 

Lucile lay his head back down on his pillow. Well. On Miran’s pillow. “I’ll try to go back to sleep.”

Miran nodded, half-asleep. Apparently he was too tired to even pretend like he intended on killing Lucile now. His breathing evened out again not long after he closed his eyes.

Lucile stared at him for a moment, syncing his breathing with Miran’s once more. It really was calming to have someone else here with him, showing him the ropes. But the closer they got, the larger the small distance between them felt. So he got greedy and moved the pillow separating them out of the way.

He didn’t touch Miran to avoid waking him or getting kicked out. He just laid there, appreciating the dazzling warmth of someone who was, had always been, and would always be human.

Lucile felt that time had passed when he opened his eyelids once more.

It was an odd, nostalgic feeling. So that was how it felt to wake from sleep. So that was real warmth, the kind he could feel on the inside, too.

He soon realized that he was pressed against another living, breathing body. He inhaled deeply into the black fabric against his face. Miran. He smelled nice.

…Lucile had doubted that he’d ever sleep again, but now that he was here… he really didn’t want to move. But he could tell that the room was lighting up thanks to the morning sun. Dawn had broken and planned to tear him out of bed and throw him back into Sion’s office. But he really, really didn’t want to move.

How strange.

Ferris had whined about getting up in the morning back when they were children, but Lucile had never really understood it. The passage of time expected them to rise and fall at expect times of day. That was just how things were. How they had always been.

But now, removed from time as he was… he couldn’t feel the need to move. He could only feel the warmth of Miran’s chest as it rose and fell, his hip bones… they were close, alright. Closer than Miran would enjoy waking to, no doubt.

Lucile adjusted his position, moving just enough to feel Miran’s hair against the hand on his back and ease the feeling of Miran against him. He didn’t ever want to move more than that again. But maybe he made a mistake in moving at all. Because Miran took a deep breath in like he’d just experienced a change in consciousness. 

It was over now, wasn’t it?

Miran soon became aware of the situation and froze. But then he woke up a little more, examined the way their limbs were entangled a little more, and seemed to decide that it wasn’t as bad as it could be. Because he didn’t move to trying to kill him. He instead pulled Lucile’s arms off rather delicately, then stood to look down at him.

Lucile opened his eyes again to look back up. Miran’s bangs were a little messy from sleep, and even his face was a little different. His eyes were puffy and his clothes wrinkled.

…Lucile felt very aware of the fact that he was in a bed under him right now. But this was Miran. Nothing would happen, even if he wanted something to on some level. “Good morning,” he said.

“You appear to have slept easily.”

“Mm. Thanks to your help. I wasn’t able to do it when I tried by myself.”

Miran looked doubtful. Very doubtful. And suspicious.

Lucile closed his eyes again. He had no reason to meet Miran’s suspicious stare. “You’re done sleeping?”

“Are you not? It’s already morning.”

“…I’d ask for a little longer, but I think you’d kill me,” Lucile said, then yawned. What an odd sensation after so long. He idly checked on Sion in the corner of his mind. He was fine. Working at his desk, exactly how Lucile had left him.

“That is correct.”

Lucile smiled. “Your bed is really soft, though. And I know I can sleep now. If I come over tomorrow, you will have another chance to kill me…”

“…That is also correct.”

“And what do you think of it?” Lucile asked. “Would you take the chance…?” 

Miran was quiet for a moment. He was probably still looking down at him, staring idly as he considered his phrasing. “I think that you are delving into a strange hobby.”

“Haha. That’s true. But it’s fun being humored every now and then, isn’t it?”

“It could be… yes.”

‘Yes’ - yes, we could try again.

If it didn’t sleep, it wasn’t human. Because all humans slept.

But if it did sleep… then maybe there was hope for it yet.

\---

“…Mm.”

He’d fallen asleep.

It was a lot easier after the first time. Nowadays he could do it anywhere, as long as it’d been a while.

Falling asleep on a love seat in his own home was fairly normal, all things considered. But when he opened his eyes, he saw his two sisters sitting on the floor in front of him, serious expressions on their faces and sketchbooks in their laps.

“…What are you two doing?”

They both raised their sketchbooks.

Ferris’ was a hyper-realistic drawing of him sleeping. Iris’ was a little yellow bird in a nest, all fluffed up from the cold. Judging by Ferris’ drawing, Iris’ was also meant to be Lucile.

“You’ve been drawing me.”

They both nodded.

“Hm. If you have that much free time, I think you could stand to train a little.”

“N-no,” Ferris stuttered. “Truthfully, I’ve just been called by the king. I must depart at once.”

“Me too! I’m going with too!” Iris said.

Lucile couldn’t help but smile. It was still odd. Talking to them, being a part of their antics… they never could have done this a year ago. Because he’d been unwilling to drag them into the dark that he lived in. That wasn’t what had happened, though. In reality, they were the ones dragging him out.

A long time ago, he’d wished that they could someday live in the light where they belonged. It didn’t matter what happened to him. That’s what he truly believed.

But that someday was now. And things _were_ better.


End file.
